Resilient wheel.



H. LABRE.

RESILIENT WHEEL.

APPLICATION funn nu 2z, woe.

Patented May 16, 1911 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H. LABRE. A

V I R E S I L I E N T W n E L l l APB- IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII e.

992,21 3. Patented 1111511631911. I

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HENRI LABRE, oF LEVALLOIS-PERRET, FRANCE.

RESILIENT WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented May 16, 1911,.

Application tiled May 22, 1909. Serial No. 4973644.

To all whom it may concern: I Bc it known' that l.- lll-:Nni Laune, acitizen of the Republic of France` residing at Levallois-Perret, in thePepublic of France, have invented a certain new and useful .Resilienttheek of which the following 1s a specifi :at ion. n

This invention relates to a resilient wheel for vehicles constituted bytwo rims held comentrically when no load is acting on the wheel, bymeans ot elastic devices with small adjustable pistons sliding in hollowspokes supporting the inner rim and carrymg outer rollers cooperatingwith guide tracks mount.- ed' inside the outer rim.

'ln tht` accompanying drawings given' by way of example, A'Figure 1 1san elevation, partly in section, of the elastic wheel in the positionot' rest. Fig. 2 is a s1de elevation 1n sectio'11,l `ig. 3 a section ofone of the spokes of the inner rim, lt`igs. 4 and 5 show in perspectivea trough forming a track and its lateral 'resilient fitting. ltig. (3shows .the wheel in its deformed position in elevation.

Thewheel comprises an inner rim a se-t cured to l the corresprmding endsof the wooden 'spokes b, the other ends of wlnch are securedV in theusual manner to the hub c and held between the flanges of the latter.The spokes b are hollow and adapted to contain resilient devicesconnecting the inner portion of the wheel to the outer wooden rim d,thc. hoop e of which forms the tire.

In the recess of each spoke 7) a sleeve 'f is mounted with a hollowpiston q sliding therein said piston having a cylimlrical shackle twhich carries the spindle ot a roller i and is provided with a sheath'j' whichis fixed to /1y and lhas parallel lateral flattened portions f.

ln the interioxaot' the. piston .r/ on the bottom ot' the shackle l1, apin l is screwed with a bottom transverse pin l/ny engaging with thecorrespomling open dinmetrical grooves provided in a hollow socket n,I'orming, moreover. a guide t'or the end ot the said pin l. 'l`he hollowsocket n which is sc1'e\v-tlnc:nlcd on the outside engages with acorresponding screw-tln'ead provided on the bottom ol' the sleeve f ot'the spoke l. A spring' o is, moreover, arranged between the Wall of thepiston yr] and thc pin l, and rests on the onel handon the bottom socketn, and on the other hand, against. the bottom ol" the shackle la.carrying the roller. 'lhns when the, rollersI e' are moved above crelaparts, coperate with rolling tracks q forming guides and constitutedby troughs (Fig. 4l secured to the inner hoop 1' of the`outer rim (l.These troughs are arranged and secured in such manner that in theposition ot' .rest (the resilient parts acting uni formly), the rollersz' should engage with the rolling tracks g, so that the axis of thespokes b should coincide with the symmetrical axis of the said troughs(Fig. 1). The troughs, the walls of which are made into a rolling trackg, are provided with a base by which they may be `secured by means ofrivets to the inner hoop 1', and with two ribs .s arranged in thecentral plane of the wheel, on which the Said troughs are not.symmetrically placed. The said troughs are, moreover, provided with aside t.

For erecting the Wheel, the tension of the springs o having vbeensuitably adjusted to suit the load, the sheaths 7' of the rollers i areengaged laterally with the correspondin r troughs q, so thatI one. oftheir flattened faces c rests against the side t. Then at the frontportion of the trough g is arranged a plate 'v of rubber or otherresilient material of suitable shape for fitting the crosssection of theguide exactly. lhe said fitting 't' can be secured in a kind oi metalbox fw, the bottom ot which rests on the other flattened portion of thesheath y' of the` roller z', the said box being placed in thecorresponding portion of thc trough.

(A)n the front 'face ol. the resilient fittings 'o ot' thc constrlwtiondescribed is placed a metal ring a: engaging with the outer rinl (l andheld in position by bolts engaging with the ribs s provided in the guidetroughs. 'l`hc metal ring :c is provided with a right'.- angle part 1:/which engages with n metal rod which is attached to and stitl'ens theouter edge ol' a flexible. protecting apron g/f the other edge ol'which, also still'ened with :t nlctal rod, is mounted in a hookedportion on one side o'll a rim with which the wooden inner rim rn isprovided. rlhe other edge ot the rim .a engages with the inner ring r, bv means of another flexible protecting`apron y. 'lhe outer rim c can beprovided with any suitable fitting, for instance with holes iorreceiving ice studs or other non-slipping devices.

lVhen there is no load on the wheel,

the springs 0 act uniformly for pushing back the pistons g which slidein the sleeves f of the hollow spokes b, the rollers z' come intocontact respectively withthe cross-section g of their troughs at a pointpassing through the axis of symmetry, and the outer rim d remainsconcentric with the inner rim a (Fig. l). On the contrary, when passingover uneven ground or when there is an excess of load, see Fig. 6 forinstance, the outer rim d becomes eccentric relatively to the inner rima, the axesof symmetry of the spokes b no longer coincide with those ofthe corresponding troughs Q, andthe rollers z' move on the guide trackscompressing their respective s rings 0 until the position of equilibriumor the extra load, or absorption of the shock resulting from thedeformation, is obtained.

It follows from the above construction, and operation that when thewheel becomes deformed, nearly all the resilient parts work at the sametime, andconsequently the load is distributed, so that the dimensions ofthe springs 0 can be reduced, which enables a lighter wheel to`beobtained, the outer appearance of which diifers very little from 'thatof ordinary existing Wheels. The

outer metal ring which keeps the resilient fittings in position,actsmoreover, 'as a protector against lateral shocks (occasioned bycontact with the edge of a pavement, for instance) the said resilientfittings intervening in this case to absorb Athe shock relatively to therollers guidcd by their inner faces.

In case of an application to heavy vehicles requiring a very wide tire,the wheel is provided with the desired number of rings of elastic parts,arranged parallel to each other. It must be pointed out, moreover, thatthe tension of the springs a can be regulated at wall at any timewithout dismantling the wheel. lt is only necessary to eugage a suitabletool, for instance, a pin, with the holes made in 'the sheath ot' eachof the shackles, so that the shackles may be turned.

Vith the turning of the shackle the socket nJ is turned by means of thepin with its slidably mounted pin rml which engages with the groove inthe' socket a.` In that movement, each shackle turns in the trough gcompressing the lateral elastic fitting o against the ring 2v, the partsresuming their original positionfwhen the flattened. portions la areagain in engagement with the guide faces.

lfVhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isQ,

l. A resilient wheel for vehicles compiing an inner rim, a hub, hollowWooden spokes 'connecting said rim and said hub, sleeves within saidspokes, hollow pistons within y said sleeves, shackles attached to saidpistons, rollers ivoted within said shackles, pins attache to Asaidshackles, springs surrounding 'said pins'and within said pistons,transverse pins passlng through said irst mentloned plus, slottedsockets engaged by said transverse pins and adapted to be screwedintovsaidv .sleeves for adjusting the springs, anouter rim and troughsupon said outer rim adapt, `j

ed to form tracks for said rollers, thejwalls of said troughs guiding,said shackles.

2. A resilient Wheel for vehicles, compris.- ing aninner rim, a hub,hollow Wooden spokesvl connecting said rim and said hub, sleeves withinsaid spokes, hollow pistons slidably mounted within said sleeves,shackles attached to said pistons, rollers ivoted within said shackles,pins attache to said shackles, springs surrounding-said .pins and withinsaid pistons, transverse'v pins passing through said first mentionedpins,"

yslotted sockets engaged by said transverse pins and adapted to bescrewed into said sleeves for adjusting the springs, an outer rim,troughs upon said outer rim, a removable wall to each trough, resilientfittings for said walls and a ring holding said fittings in place, thewalls of each trough guiding the correspond-ing shackle.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specilication in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses. fp v' HENRI LABRE.`

YVitncsses:

li. C. Coxn,

(inmunes lios N stun.

